Breakout Characters with TV Spin-Off Breakdowns
By Eric Grigs | July 8, 2023
It’s one of TV history’s biggest sitcom staples and what nobody sees coming: the breakout character.
Due to some unexplained magic that marries clever writing with perfect casting, a minor role suddenly becomes a major draw for audiences to tune in every week. Though it’s easy to say no one could have predicted the success of a breakout character, in reality these once-in-a-lifetime performances do have some common ingredients.
First off, a snappy catchphrase almost always helps. (“Dyn-o-mite!”) A sassy demeanor? Check. Canned laughter and eager applause every time they enter the scene? Absolutely!
So then, when it comes to couch potato appetites, why not give ’em more of what they want? I don’t know about you, but whenever I get creative in baking and add more of a flavor I love instead of sticking to what’s written on the recipe card, it’s a surefire way to ruin the whole cake.
Same with sitcoms: small, delicious doses is the key to making our favorites stand out even more. A bit actor may feel like second banana, but they truly get the plum role of playing off the leading character—consistently a better position for delivering the zingers.
So what happens when you remove a supporting actor from their familiar environment and give them a show of their own? In the world of spin-offs, it’s always gonna be a gamble to make the jump. When deciding whether to keep it All in the Family or to branch out, for every remembered Maude, there’s a forgotten Gloria.
Here are a few favorite spin-off obscurities—odd attempts to take beloved characters from the sidelines to the spotlight.
The Ropers
Why pay for two landlords when you can get away with one? That was the studio’s calculation for bumping Helen and Stanley Roper from the hit series Three’s Company. After selling the apartment building to Don Knott’s Ralph Furley, the two shuffled off to their own show. However, Norman Fell knew he had a good thing going with Three’s Company and was hesitant to accept the offer of star billing. If it flopped, he’d be out of a job. Execs convinced him to make the move by contractually promising a full year of The Ropers. If canceled before that time, then Fell and co-star Audra Lindley would return to Three’s Company. It scored high ratings in its first season, but a move to Saturday night the following year killed its audience share. The cancellation of The Ropers came one month after the one-year contract term ended, realizing Fell’s worst fears about leaving a hot show for a spin-off. In spite of this, Fell and Lindley returned for one last appearance as the Ropers in a 1981 episode of Three’s Company which, to the delight of audiences, included the company of all three landlords.
A Tale of Two Flos
Whether CBS gave Polly Holliday her own show to ease tensions arising from her overshadowing star Linda Lavin on Alice remains somewhat of an urban legend. Regardless, the wisecracking waitress leaves behind Mel’s Diner, buying a rundown bar in Texas and renaming it Flo’s Yellow Rose. Despite receiving a Lead Actress Emmy nomination in 1980 for playing the Flo Castleberry character, the network kissed her grits for the last time in the following year at the end of its second season.
Comedy legend Marla Gibbs should have been a sure bet in her spin off from The Jeffersons (which itself was a spin off from All in the Family). Checking In continued the adventures of acerbic maid Florence as she leaves her job with the Jeffersons to take on a role as executive housekeeper of the St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. It lasted only four episodes. Unlike with The Ropers, Gibbs smartly wrote into her contract that she’d go back to her old gig on The Jeffersons if the new show failed. After just five episodes without Florence, The Jeffersons writers explained she returned because the hotel had burned down.
Sandra Clark
Marla Gibbs stepped into the lead with hit 227 and quickly found her featured spot challenged by a thunder stealing side character of her own. Sultry neighbor Sandra, played by Jackée Harry, chewed the scenery in every episode in which she appeared—making history as the first Black woman to win a Best Supporting Actress Emmy. While her spin-off never got a proper start as a series, a “backdoor pilot” was attempted in an episode of 227 where Sandra moves to L.A. and takes a job at a fitness club.
Phyllis
Ditzy landlady and neighbor to Mary Richards on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis Lindstrom seemed like a natural for her own slot on the schedule. With powerhouse Oscar and Emmy winning actress Cloris Leachman on board, what could go wrong? After the death of her husband Lars, she moves with daughter Bess from Minneapolis to San Francisco to start a new chapter in life. The show was plagued with rewrites to overcome the real-life deaths of two cast members during its run and struggled to find its footing. It was canceled after two seasons.
Eric Grigs is a pop culture writer, artist, and co-host of the Pop Trash Podcast.